I have my 6 yr old grandson 3 days a week, we start with walking the dog, sometimes I run, he bikes, we do alot of baking when the weather's not so good, I help him, the amount of mess doesn't matter so much as the amount of time it eats up. Then there's dishes to wash; I let him have a pair of my old rubber gloves, a couple inches of soapy water in the sink he likes a spoon, cup a bowl, the whisk is a great toy. I put a towel on the floor move everything off that side of the counter, and let him play until he gets bored, I do somethng else... when I decide it's quiet time, we set the timer, he watches cartoons for 30 mins. On days when i just don't feel like being that active, we go to the bouncy house places that have sprung up everywhere! for 5 dollars you can sit and read while they play for usually 3 or 4 hours; if they can take it. sometimes we go to the trampoline place,or the jungle gym place, not tooo often they're kind of pricey...Good luck